Everlasting Pain
by AbraFilo
Summary: Just a dribble on Sweeney Todd's, Mrs. Lovett's and Toby's thoughts and life. Rated M for blood there is no sexual content within this story.


Disclaimer: I do not own Sweeney Todd or any of its characters, the events that take place are purely fictional and written only for enjoyment.

Disclaimer: The song lyrics are from the song 'Pain' by the band 'Three Days Grace'

On a rainy night, not so different or special from any other in London a barber is finishing up with his last customer of the evening before he leaves the shop for the quickest supper he can manage. The barber is crouched behind the man to his left, all his senses in a frenzy, he savours this moment for it is unlike any other, better than any other. Holding his breath, he could smell the boiling vegetables downstairs, he was aware of the now hot silver in his closed hand and could almost taste the iron in his customers blood. The barber finally drew the blade across the mans neck so agonizingly slowly as the warm blood flowed over his once white shirt sleeve, and intwined itself through his equally pale fingers. He listens ever so carefully for any sign of life from the man, when he's sure that his customer is dead he slams his foot on the lever sending him head first into the basement and inhales a deep agitated breath. The pleasing moment is over and now he is left alone and very deeply upset. That was the fourth customer he had that died instantly, that would never do, the barber would have to start from scratch.

_Pain, without love_

_Pain, I can't get enough_

_'Cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all_

Downstairs in the pie shop a young boy helps the butcher prepare supper though she won't let him near anything dangerous such as the stove or knives. He isn't discouraged however and settles for setting up the table and pouring them all drinks. This young boy would do anything to help or protect her, he owed her his very life, in his eyes she was an angel sent to protect him and he loved her as a mother. Wanting to do something to help he goes to fetch the barber that corrupts the very fabric of his safe and happy world. It wasn't entirely true that he was just doing it to be 'nice' or 'save her the trip' as he would have put it should she ask. The young boy did this because he was scared for his new mothers safety and knew he had every reason to be afraid. The barbers room had a hint of blood to the smell of fresh soap and water and the mans very eyes reflected no light and gave the impression that he was dead inside. Even more disturbingly, however, was to look into the mans eyes when he was wearing a smile. It was like looking at coals in a blazing furnace as they came to life, filled with gleeful malice and bloodlust unlike any the boy had ever seen. The boy couldn't remember ever feeling as alone or terrified as he did in those moments.

_Your sick of feeling numb_

_Your not the only one_

_I'll take you by the hand and i'll show you a world you can understand_

The butcher wasn't aware of the young boy leaving to fetch the barber, she was much too busy with cooking to even notice if the building caught fire. Cooking had always been something she was very passionate about. Thinking back, her passion probably came from the fact that her friend Lucy, the barber's wife, couldn't cook very well at all. It had drove her mad with envy to discover that Benjamin, as he was called at the time, loved her souley based on love alone. Well she had loved the barber since the first time she had laid eyes on him and to trump that she could also cook, sew and clean. With Lucy gone now she thought it would be a snap to get him to notice her for the first time in his life, but the barber was proving to be even more oblivious than ever. She removed the steamed vegetables from the stove and put a serving on everyones plate without even breaking her train of thought. If his thought was going to be elsewhere at all hours of the day then she would just have to be more outgoing at all hours of the day.

_This life is filled with hurt_

_When happiness doesn't work_

_Trust me and take my hand_

_When the lights go out you will understand_

The boy entered the shop without knocking and recieved a glare from the barber that turned his blood to liquid ice. With a warning that the next time he entered without permission or knocking he would be very sorry, The barber came out into the rain, locking the shop behind him. They each walked down the stairs in absolute silence, the boy felt the same aura of menace he had always felt when near the barber. It was a cold feeling as though all the happiness he had ever felt just seeped out of him and the world had become a very dark miserable place to be. The barber busied himself with checking all the streets over one last time for any hint of the judge, the joys of living on a corner. They stepped off the bottom of the rickety wooden stairs and opened the door to the side of the shop. the boy who was now shivering, with little or no assistance from the weather stepped inside immediatly as the barbers eyes flicked over all the streets once more before entering.

_Pain, without love_

_Pain, I can't get enough_

_Pain, I like it rough 'cause i'd rather feel pain than nothing at all_

Another thing the butcher took great pride in was her flare for decorating and the boy immediatly commented on how well she had put together the candle lit dinner. The barber didn't notice or didn't care and took a seat so he could gaze out the window, so he could watch for the judge no doubt, it only took a grain of common sense to figure that out. Before the young boy sat at the dinner table he gave the butcher a hug, she looked like she needed one and he did too after being alone with the barber. The barber watched out the window though the stormy weather had made it almost impossible to see anything through it even with the occasional flash of lightning. The butcher feared that this may be yet another quiet supper that they had so often then remembered her goal to catch his attention. It had always been her goal it's just that now she was stepping it up a bit. If she could bait him to speak just a little she would be satisfied, he had such a soft silky voice that it was always worth the time in the end. Seeing the dreamy far away look in the butchers eyes the boy reliezed she just might be due for another hug by the time supper was over and didn't wish time away for her sake, despite the barbers pesence at his side.

By the end of supper she had barley managed to get two words out of the barber and was depressed to see him go back up to his shop. It broke her heart to see him so obsessed over a lost cause and brooding his life away in hopes that someone who would probably never come would arrive at his door. For a moment she let herself assume the judge did come and the barber did dice him up. Then what would he do after he had exacted his revenge? she had serious doubts he would recognize her then even though all his problems would be solved. The butcher looked to her side and realized that the boy had been cleaning up while she had sat there fantasizing. She immediatly helped clean up the rest of the mess and sent the boy to bed as she noticed it was past his bedtime. He gave her a hug and told her that he loved her before skipping down the hall. She was touched by the sincerity in his tone and the knowledge that he returned her love for him, she could feel tears welling in her eyes. What wouldn't she give to hear those exact words come from the barber and to look into his soft eyes and know that he truly meant it.

As the boy pulled the covers up around him he could already hear the barber paceing the shop above him. It was relieving to see that the lightning lit up his room perfectly so he could see if the barber came in. Did the boy think the barber capable of killing him? yes, and he had a hunch he might be willing to kill his new mom too if he was ever in a rotten enough mood to do it. The boy always saw the barber as quite an unstable man since the first week he had lived with him. He had even started sleeping with a knife under his mattress and guarding the middle floor at night once he was sure the butcher was asleep. The barber never came down during the night though, sometimes he didn't even stop paceing. Even if the barber never came down the boy knew it would be a foolish idea to relax and go to sleep. So he listened tonight, like he always did, to the barber's every step on the floor above as his heartbeat fell into the rythem of the barber's steady paceing.

The reason he paced the room now was the same reason he checked all the streets before going anywhere, the same reason he kept the window clean and the same reason he sat in a chair faceing the window during supper. The reason was that because he was certain that the instant he wasn't watching, listening and waiting something would happen concerning the judge. He had been in a living hell for fifteen years on a false charge with only the thought of returning home to his beautiful wife and seeing the wonderful young women his daughter had grown into to keep him going. Then when he finally came back it had all been destroyed, he had absolutly nothing, aside from revenge. Now instead of a hopeful image of living a long and happy life with the women he loved and the daughter he never knew he had an image of a savage revenge lingering in his mind like a plague. He never once tried to rid himself of the brutal ideas, instead he embraced them. It was just easier than dealing with the pain.

_Anger and agony_

_Are better than misery_

_Trust me i've got a plan_

_When the lights go out you will understand_


End file.
